Download Mars Exploration: Characteristics, Missions, and Education Programs and more Slides Earth Sciences in PDF only on Docsity! Mars Exploration Program NSTA/ITEA/NASA-NES ROBOTICS INSTITUTE docsity.com Earth / Mars Comparison docsity.com What is the main objective for the exploration of Mars? (Poll question) docsity.com Characterize the Geology Determine if Life Ever Arose on Mars Characterize the Climate Prepare for Human Exploration When? Where? Form? Amount? MARS SCIENCE STRATEGY: Follow the Water!Common Thread LIFE CLIMATE GEOLOGY HUMAN docsity.com Water is key to life as we know it on Earth. docsity.com MGS has returned more images than all past Mars missions combined… so far! Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) docsity.com Science Results • Discovered water ice in the upper few feet of the surface, at near the poles • Tracked dramatic seasonal changes, such as the comings and goings of polar ice, clouds and dust storms. • Created maps showing radiation and minerals Mars Odyssey docsity.com Opportunity Landed: January 24, 2004 Currently Sol 496 Spirit Landed: January 3, 2004 Currently Sol 517 Mars Exploration Rovers docsity.com MRO at Kennedy Space Center Clean Room docsity.com The Atlas V rocket will launch MRO into space. docsity.com Atlas 5 Rocket: Stage 1 blasts off from Earth and Stage 2 powers the spacecraft onto a precise trajectory toward Mars. Stage 1 Atlas booster MRO spacecraft Protective nose cone Stage 2 Centaur engine docsity.com Obstacle_02: Cruise For seven months, the orbiter travels through the freezing vacuum of interplanetary space. Throughout the 300-million-mile journey, MRO is susceptible to damaging solar particles that can be spewed from the Sun without warning. docsity.com < start orbit insertion < closest approach < end orbit insertion March_2006 Obstacle_03: Orbit Insertion At the precise moment, MRO must execute a 25- minute rocket burn to slow down enough to be captured into orbit. As the spacecraft passes on the far side of Mars, engineers on Earth face complete radio silence. docsity.com Obstacle_04: Aerobraking Streaking across the Martian sky, MRO dips into the atmosphere to trim its orbit to the precise path. Come in too high, and the thin atmosphere isn’t enough to slow down the spacecraft… too low, and the intense friction destroys the spacecraft. docsity.com MRO – Searching for the Water SHARAD: Shallow Radar Instrument Objective: Penetrates the ground to search for water ice at depths greater than three feet. CRISM Spectrometer Objective: Analyzes the surface, creating a color map of mineral deposits that indicates where water recently lay. docsity.com Where is the next landing site for future habitat-seeking rover missions? CTX camera: Context camera Objective: Provides wide area views to give context to high- resolution data from other instruments. HiRISE camera: High-res camera Objective: Zooms in on landforms and debris in areas where water once flowed. docsity.com MRO will return a lot of data…. MRO will return 34 terabits of data -- equivalent to about 1,000 DVDs. docsity.com The Imagine Mars Project is a science, technology and arts initiative that guides students to create a community on Mars. This program ties to NASA’s long-term vision for human exploration. Inner City Student Mars Mural On Elementary School Wall Mars Gravity Science through Dance Student Concepts of Mars Colony Students with Art Projects SCIENCE THROUGH ARTS & HUMANITIES docsity.com Why is NASA interested in having students participate in their missions? (Poll question) docsity.com Mars Websites http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov http:marsed.asu.edu http://msip.asu.edu htttp://marsbound.asu.edu docsity.com
